Christmas With The Potters
by LyraLilyJackson
Summary: Starting with sixth year, this tells of how Lily Evans, James Potter and their friends learn, live and love from Christmas to Christmas. This is the story of how Lily and James got together, told from their points of view.
1. Chapter 1

CHRISTMAS WITH THE POTTERS

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Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, James would be alive. Everything, everything belongs to JKR. Well, not_ everything_, but you know what I mean.

AN: Hi everyone! This is my first multi-chaptered fic which tells the story of how James and Lily got together. It will alternate between James' and Lily's povs and starts in sixth year. Please review because I need all the feedback you can give! I probably won't be able to reply to all reviews; but any questions will definitely be answered. Thanks for reading,

Llj.

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Chapter 1: I find out how I'm going to die.

_When life hands you a lemon, say :oh yeah, i like lemons. What else ya got? -Henry Rollins, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants_

_A cold, blustery wind made its way over a blue lake which a forest on one side and a magnificent castle on the other. The castle however, was seemingly empty. The wind scattered a few dry leaves down a path which led to a huge pitch, where all the castle's inhabitants seemed to be congregated. Said inhabitants ignored the biting wind which was snatching at scarves and posters, too busy cheering or booing as a scarlet and gold blur shot a red ball past a blue clad figure into a huge hoop._

I smiled, shaking my head as the stands around me erupted. Whatever James Potter might be otherwise, even I couldn't deny that he was a simply magnificent Quidditch player. Though that did nothing but boost his already over-inflated ego. As the Gryffindor chasers hi-fived each other, I turned my ear to the helpful commentary being provided by my fellow sixth year Hufflepuff, Anne Abbot.

"And after that fantastic goal by Gryffindor captain James Potter, the score is 70-30 to Gryffindor! Ravenclaw better get their game up if they have any hope of winning this match! Macmillan in possession of the Quaffle, he passes to Fletcher and, _ouch, _a well placed Bludger by McKinnon makes him drop the Quaffle right into Clearwater's hands! She passes to Potter who is speeding back up the pitch, he evades Macmillan, passes to Longbottom who has Knight hot on his heels, it looks like Longbottom is going to pass back to Potter but, _no! _Longbottom scores! 80-30 to Gryffindor!"

Beside me, my friend Alice cheered while madly waving her Gryffindor flag about. She had been dating Frank (one of my closest friends, who had the fantastically unfortunate surname Longbottom) ever since January. Marlene McKinnon, my other best friend, was always telling anyone who would listen that Frank and Alice were going to end up as married Aurors with little blonde, accident-prone babies and live with Frank's mother.

While I contemplated this, the match went on and half an hour later, our Seeker- a fourth year girl called Meadowes- had caught the Snitch and won the match.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Instead of trying to locate Marlene in all the hullaballoo, Alice and I made our way up to Gryffindor tower, me pulling Alice up twice when she tripped. This did not concern me; Alice was a total klutz who could trip her way across a flat surface. However, anyone who tried to call Alice a stereotypical blonde usually got a trip to the hospital wing, free of charge.

The Gryffindor Common Room was crowded; apparently the Marauders had once again managed to sneak in food and drinks. I didn't bother to even try and reprimand them; they'd just ignore me. _Stupid Prefect Remus,_ I thought, giving him my deluxe _you-are-so-dead _glare, but he just shot me a guilty grin from where he was handing out pumpkin pasties with lit candles on them.

"What's with the candles?" I asked, confused.

Alice raised an eyebrow at me. "Surely you haven't forgotten, Lil? It's James' birthday today, the 21st of December!"

"Yes Lily, how could you_ possibly_ forget? James has been going on about how he had a match on his birthday for what, _only _a month?!" a mock-reproachful voice said from behind us. I sniffed. "I don't make it a priority to remember the birthdays of arrogant pricks, do I?" I said, turning round to address the familiar voice of Marlene McKinnon.

Neither Alice nor Marlene replied to that. They were far too used to my grumblings about Potter to bother. Instead, Alice said, "Nice Beating today, Marl." "Thanks," Marlene replied, grinning. She was a tall, wiry girl with pretty, angular features and short, spiky black hair with a red streak in it. Ever since I had told Marlene about muggle hair dye back in third year, she dyed that one streak of hair a different colour when and as she pleased. Today it was red for the match, like it usually was on Quidditch days.

"We can't take all the credit though," she continued. "It's James' strategies that really do the job, especially like that last match against Slytherin. He's a really good captain and it's thanks to him that we won the Cup last year at all!"

"Yeah, yeah," I rolled my eyes. "Let's all bow down to Potter the Great."

Alice snorted. "Don't let him hear you say that, Lily, or you'll never hear the end of it!"

I groaned. "I know… anyway, I'm going to the dorm to complete my essay for Potions. Have fun, you two!"

"_Lily,_" Marl groaned, "Don't be a spoilsport! There's only a day left before the Christmas holidays anyway. Learn to live a little! The essay isn't even due until after we come back! Back me up, Alice!"

"Ohh, no. No, no, no. We are not having this argument again._ I'm _going to talk to Frank." Alice walked away, nearly knocking down a first ear in the process. I snorted, and escaped to the dorm before Marlene could start arguing with me again.

It wasn't as though I didn't like to have fun, I thought, as I pulled out my quill and some parchment. I was just dedicated to my studies, a Prefect who took her responsibilities seriously (unlike _some _people) and I knew working hard now would help me be successful. I wasn't a Pureblood like Frank and Marlene, or even Potter. I had to rely completely on my skills, especially at a time like this, when prejudice was running rampant in the wizarding world, thanks to You-Know-Who. _Don't think about that now, Lily_, I told myself sternly. With a sigh, I dipped my quill into the inkpot and began my essay.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later, I was writing the finishing para when Marl burst into the dorm, a crumpled parchment in one hand and a half eaten custard cream in the other.

"Lily! I have bad news! Bad, bad news!"

"What is it? Did someone-" I asked, alarmed, thinking of Death Eaters and You-Know-Who.

"Don't be silly! I meant bad as in _annoyingly _bad, not _tragically _bad,"

"You absolute moron, Marlene." I rolled my eyes. "Stop giving me near heart attacks!" Marlene just smirked. "But then I wouldn't be _your_ friend, would I, Lil? What I came to tell you was that my parents had to take an emergency business trip to France, and won't be back till the third of Jan."

My face fell. "I guess that means we'll be spending Christmas at Hogwarts, then?" my Mum and sister were on holiday in Majorca with Petunia's boyfriend's, no _fiancé's,_ family. As I had no wish to join them, I was going to spend Christmas with Marlene. But now it looked like we'd be stuck here. A pity. It would have been nice to get out…. Marlene's parents were important officials in the Department of International Magical Co-operation and often travelled to the Ministries in other countries. Kind of like wizarding ambassadors, really.

"Yes, but…." Marlene hesitated. "Mum made arrangements with her friend with whom I sometimes stay with when Gran's occupied. She said her friend's more than happy to have us both…."

"Then what's the catch?" I asked, frowning when I noticed that Marlene was looking at me warily.

Marl sighed. "It's just that-well, myMum'sfriendisMrsPotter-James'mum." She said in a rush.

My eyes widened. "No! Absolutely no!"

"C'mon Lils!" Marl started pleading. "You knew James and I stayed in the same village. And he's not so bad to live with, also…"

"Marlene, _no!_" I cried. "I am _not_ staying in Potter's house for any length of time! We can stay _right here!"_

"But Lileeeee," Marlene whined, "It's going to be so boring stuck here with a couple of firsties! Even Alice is going home with Frank to visit his family! Look, I promise you, the Potter house is so big you probably won't have to see James except for meals. And Mrs Potter is really nice!"

Inspite of everything, I could feel my resolve waning. Noticing this, Marl widened her blue eyes innocently. "And have I mentioned, they have a really big, well stocked library?"

I groaned. "Fine, fine. We can stay with them. And if Potter tries even _one_ pick up line on me-"

"I get it! Now let's go tell James!" Marlene cut me off and started dragging me down the stairs before I could so much as say 'Dumbledore'.

Potter didn't seem to be in the common room, despite the party technically being in his honour. "Oi, Black!" Marlene shouted out to Potter's best mate, someone whom I liked to privately refer to as 'heathen no 2'. Sirius Black grinned his dashingly handsome smile at us and yelled back, "Yes, love? Fancy a Butterbeer?" And he held one up.

I rolled my eyes.

"No thanks, Black. I need to know where James is!" Marl yelled. Black pointed towards the boy's dorms and Marl began to drag me through a group of second year girls, keeping a vice-like grip on my arm all the while. As we climbed the stairs I pondered on the fact that although Marlene and Black were actually pretty good friends and had played Beater together on the house team ever since fourth year, they never called each other by anything except their surnames. A strange pair, those two were.

But by then we had reached the sixth year dorms and I had a horrible revelation. "Oh Merlin, this is how I'm going to die, isn't it? Death by close contact to James Potter over Christmas. How pathetic….. "

Marl sighed. "Don't be overdramatic, Lily." And she pushed the door open without knocking.

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AN: That's it then. The first chapter! This was more of an introductory kind of chapter, to set everything up. And I know James' birthday isn't really on the 21st of December, but I needed to change it for the plot, so please bear with me! Now review and tell me what you think! Constructive criticism is welcome. The next chapter should be up within two weeks, where we get an insight into James' mind…..


	2. chapter 2

Disclaimer: JKR is the queen of the universe. Everything belongs to her.

AN: This chapter is dedicated to wehaveaproblem for being the first ever reviewer for this story. Thanks a lot!

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Chapter 2: My birthday ends with a ….gulp?

_And no matter what happens between this moment and then_

_I shall always be thankful to have had such friends. - Robin4, Promises Defended_

The Marauders Map was an interesting thing. It showed every inch of Hogwarts and the people inside and was also the project I was most proud of; (aside from becoming animagi, that is) Peter helped find entrances to new passageways, Remus and Sirius did most of the charmwork, (my favorite part was where Sirius charmed the Map to insult anyone who tried to open it besides us) and I sat down and sketched everything out.

Yes, I, James Potter, Quidditch payer extraordinaire, liked to sketch. Not what you were expecting? Sue me and see if I care.

Anyway, I was sitting on my bed in our dorm in Gryffindor tower and examining the Map. I liked looking at all the labeled dots and seeing what different people were up to. Professor Dumbledore was pacing in his office. We'd noticed that he did that a lot. Professors McGonagall and Sprout were in greenhouse no. 2. In the Prefect's bathroom, Adrian Knight, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, looked like he was having a nice, long soak. Or trying to drown himself. It could be either one, considering the beating we gave his team today. I sincerely hoped that he wasn't drowning, because Knight was actually quite a decent bloke, he even took the trouble to wish me a 'happy birthday' after the match.

Just as I was about to find out which two unlucky Prefects had to patrol the dungeons today, the dorm door slammed open. Faster than a Snitch, I shoved the Map under my pillow. Merlin, I hoped I'd remember to smooth out the crumples before Remus found it.

Astonishingly, my two visitors were Marlene McKinnon and Lily Evans.

"Oh my!" I exclaimed, "Are my eyes deceiving me, or has Ms Evans actually, _willingly _sought out my presence?"

"Believe me, Potter, it wasn't done willingly." Lily muttered, glaring at her co-visitor.

"James," said co-visitor declared, "My parents had to go on an emergency trip to France, so we, that is, Lily and I, will be spending Christmas at your house, since your mother invited us over."

"Okay."

"O…okay?" Marlene stuttered, suddenly confused, while Lily looked at me warily like she was expecting some kind of outburst. And maybe there was this tiny part of my mind doing a little celebratory jig, (Lily! In my house! At Christmas!) but I wasn't actually going to stand up and start doing it. I really wasn't in the mood for it.

I raised my eyebrows. "Okay. It's not like it's the first time you're staying over, or something."

Lily was still looking at me weirdly. I kept my politely confused expression on my face. Sometimes it was just so amusing riling her up, because I could never predict how she was going to react. And true enough, next second she had blurted out-

"That's it, Potter? 'Okay'? What, no smartass remarks? No asking me out like you do a dozen times a week? No offering to take me on romantic walks in the snow?"

I smirked. "Actually, no Lily, I'm not. In case you hadn't noticed, it hasn't started snowing yet. Very irresponsible of the weather, I think. And a walk in the snow? That's not romantic, Lil, that's just bloody cold. And currently I'm kind of refining my technique…"

Lily now looked highly mortified at her outburst in a cute, Lily, kind of way. Marlene, who had been giving her an incredulous look, turned to me curiously.

"Refining your technique?"

"Yeah," I grinned, "I'm taking lessons from the Giant Squid, you know, 'cause Lily here seemed so much more inclined to go out with him, rather than me."

Marlene snorted and Lily scowled.

"At least you admit you need help with something, Potter."

Unfazed, I replied blithely, "You should be happy it isn't the professional kind, my dear Lily."

But when they both stared at me blankly, I sighed. Seemed like I would have to coach them on the finer points of subtle self-directed humor when they stayed over during Christmas.

"Anyway…. Why aren't you downstairs being an obnoxious party host?" Lily asked.

Ouch. Touchy subject. _You should have never gone there, Lily._

"Maybe I didn't _want _to be an obnoxious party host, Evans." My smile disappeared. "If you came here just to throw poorly veiled insults at me on my birthday, you can turn around and please leave."

"I never wanted to come in the first place. Happy birthday, Potter." Lily snapped, and flounced out of the room. Marlene gave me a slightly apologetic smile and followed Lily, shutting the door gently behind her in a total contrast to the way she had entered. Not too pleased with the way my latest encounter with Lily had gone, I went back to examining the Map.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two and a half hours later, the door slammed open again. Once again, I shoved the Map under my pillow, but it was just Sirius.

"Oh. It's you." I muttered, pulling out the Map. I mumbled "Mischief managed" before proceeding to smooth out the creases.

"Don't_ you_ sound delighted?" Sirius asked, smirking slightly. "And after I got something especially for you and all..."

He dropped a bottle of Firewhiskey into my lap.

"Nice." I grinned. "This is the kind of birthday gift that requires immediate appreciation. Let's get sloshed."

Sirius pulled out a couple of plastic cups. "You better enjoy that. It was damn hard to get hold of, with so many people rushing about on the last trip before Christmas." We didn't usually drink Firewhiskey, elf-made wine was easier to get hold of, not to mention much milder and not illegal for us to be drinking.

"Happy birthday to me," I mumbled, raising my glass. "Cheers, mate" Sirius said, and we both took a large gulp.

When the others came up, Remus just shook his head at us, and then proceeded to pour himself a cup. We offered Frank and Peter some, but they both declined. Frank said he was too full of Butterbeer. I couldn't blame him, that stuff was awesome. But Firewhiskey is awesomer.

Peter just crashed onto his bed fully dressed and was out like a light. Sometimes I really admired his ability to fall asleep within seconds. Frank too looked pretty done in. I liked Frank. He was a cool guy who got along well with us Marauders. He understood our jokes and didn't criticize our every action, unlike a certain beautiful redhead. We respected him because he had the ability to laugh at himself and yet didn't take any shit from us either. He even knew to leave us alone on Elf-made Laropoly nights. Smart guy, Frank was.

"So." Sirius turned to me. "What did McKinnon and Evans want?"

Remus looked over curiously, probably due to Lily's name being mentioned. After I told them, Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Interesting… Christmas with a twist."

While Remus snorted, I had a sudden thought. Turning to Sirius, I asked, "How do we know that the Giant Squid is a 'he' and not a 'she'?" Sirius stared at me before replying slowly, "That, James, is an _excellent _question."

Remus snickered. "I think the Firewhiskey has addled your wits" he said, and then paused. "How do you tell a squid's gender anyway?"

I snorted. "If _you_ don't know, how will we?"

I poured us all another cup of Firewhiskey. The room was slowly starting to spin.

"Here's to James' birthday!" Remus raised his cup in a toast.

"Yes, here's to James!" Sirius added. "May Evans go out with him one day."

"May he win this year's Quidditch Cup!"

"That's not a maybe, Remus, that's a certainty. May he get married to Evans and have many troublemaking green eyed babies."

"And may he never make you godfather of any of them."

"Remus!"

"Okay, okay. May …..may we be friends forever."

"May the Marauders' legacy never die!"

"May James live to be a hundred and seven!"

"And may his birthdays stop sucking one day."

"How much of this is actually going to happen?" I grumbled at them, but then I smiled."But thanks anyway." And we emptied our cups.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning, I woke up and groaned. My head was throbbing and Peter's and Remus' voices sounded like they were using _sonorous_ charms. Without opening my eyes, I waved my hand about, trying to search for my bed hangings so I could close them.

"Ahh, he stirs. Good morning, James." Remus said. Bloody Merlin's Pants, nobody had the right to sound that happy on a Sunday morning.

"Go away!" I groaned, my eyes still squeezed tightly shut.

"As you wish," Remus said, and I could just _tell_ hewas smirking, the prat. "I'll just have to put this extremely helpful hangover potion away, then. What a pity."

Peter snickered somewhere off to my left.

"Gimme that!" I cried, sitting up. Opening my eyes an infestimal amount, (_owww, the light_) I grabbed the vial and drank the mixture inside.

The potion was something we had concocted ourselves; last year, Sirius had discovered that if we added a few extra ingredients to a common headache potion, it made a quick and easy cure for mild hangovers. Brilliant discovery, that was.

After the throbbing subsided and my ears returned to normal, I got out of bed, putting my glasses on at the same time. On my right, the lump that was Sirius was snoring softly under his blankets.

"I tried already," Remus said dispassionately, "But he refuses to wake up."

Frank and Peter, both fully dressed, were standing at the window, their faces pressed against the panes, through which I could see a lot of white and grey flurries. I then noticed that the dorm was much colder than it had been the past few weeks. It made me think of how our small lake would be freezing over back at home, and my ice skates under my bed.

"About time it started snowing." Peter declared, his voice muffled by the glass.

"Great," I muttered. "Someone tell Evans. She wanted to take a romantic walk."

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AN: Here's the new chapter! Like it, love it, hate it, have an opinion? Tell me in a review. And James was a little subdued because- you'll find out what was bothering him soon, don't worry.

_Important note-_ Peter _will_ be doing things in this story, talking and being part of the Marauders and everything. If he was all evil and absent right from the beginning, they would have never trusted him. I apologize to the people who hate him, I don't like him either, but there won't be any Peter-bashing, sorry.

Thanks for reading,

Llj.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is a paperback edition of the Deathly Hallows. Harry Potter belongs to JKR.

AN: This chapter is dedicated to wehaveaproblem and .35 for their awesome reviews. You keep me going :)

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Chapter 3: Marauders are bad for one's emotional stability

_She had blue skin._

_And so did he._

_He kept it hid_

_And so did she._

_They searched for blue_

_Their whole life through_

_They passed right by-_

_And never knew._

_-Masks_

The next morning when I got up, I was delighted. I jumped out of bed and ran to the window.

"Marlene! Alice! Wake up, it's snowing!"

"Whuzzgoinon?" Alice mumbled sleepily from her bed.

"It's snowing!" I yelled happily, running to Marlene's bed and pulling all the blankets off her. She screeched and curled up into a tiny ball.

"Lily! It's freezing!

"I know," I smiled broadly, pulling her out of bed and beginning to get ready for the day.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At breakfast, Marl and I seated ourselves opposite Alice, who plopped down next to a sleepy-looking Frank. As Marlene began to butter her toast, the post owls came in with letters for Marlene and Alice and the Daily Prophet for Frank.

He unfurled it and let out a soft groan. "What?" I asked uneasily. "Is it-?"But Frank just shook his head and sighed. "Just the Ministry being prats again."

I got the feeling that there was something more to it, but a faint "Oi, Evans!" distracted me. Frank glanced in the direction of the approaching voice and grinned.

"So Lily," he said, "I heard you wanted to, what was it? Take a romantic stroll in the snow with someone?"

I groaned and resisted the urge to grab my breakfast and run as Marl sniggered and Alice shot us a confused glance. Running would not help solve the approaching problem, especially since the problem had longer legs and was more fit than me.

James Potter dropped into the seat next to Frank, greeting us with a nod.

"Lily Evans." He said, "It is freezing outside and we'll both probably end up shivering to death but since you like strolling in the snow, want to take a walk with me?"

I frowned, hating the way Potter made it sound like he was doing me a favor by asking. Behind him, Benjy Fenwick had stopped to watch the show.

"No, Potter." I said. "Thanks, but no."

Potter didn't look surprised at my answer. God knows how many times I'd said no to him before.

"C'mon, Lily," Potter's eyes glittered mischievously. "We can go down to the lake and visit the Giant Squid. I _know_ how much you like him."

I growled as Frank suppressed a snort and Benjy's lips twitched. Ever since that time in fifth year when I had compared Potter to the squid, as payback, he never let me –or anyone else- forget it.

That was also the only time I saw Potter completely lose his cool. Until yesterday night, that is.

"No, Potter!" I said forcefully. "And so help me, if you pester me during the holidays, I _will_ murder you."

Next to me, Marlene winced sympathetically. Potter opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, from further down the table, Peter Pettigrew called, "Hey, James, if you don't come quick, Remus is going to steal your last chocolate muffin."

I was grateful for the interruption, but I frowned because Remus didn't look like he was paying attention to anything except the Prophet which he was immersed in. But apparently this was a very real threat, because James stood up immediately.

"Lily Evans," he said dramatically, running his hand through his hair and making it messier than ever, "I would love to stay and be threatened by you a bit longer, but I have to save my poor chocolate muffin, who never did anything to deserve total annihilation by a devouring Remus. So, farewell for now! Oh, hey, Benjy. Didn't see you there."

"James," Benjy said, his face serious. "Seen today's Prophet?"

"Yeah. I did." Potter was scowling now. "Like it will change anything." Benjy nodded mutely and they parted, leaving me to wonder what exactly the Ministry of Magic had done.

My eyes followed Potter as he crept stealthily back to his friends. He made a dive for his muffin, but at the last minute Remus' hand shot out and grabbed it. I found myself smiling as James scolded Remus, madly waving his hands about, and Remus grinned, his mouth too full of muffin to say anything.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later, my friends and I sat in the common room. I was reading Anne of the Green Gables, one of my favorite classics, with Fitzgerald on my lap. Marl, Frank and Alice had originally being doing homework, but now Alice was just sitting with her head leaning on Frank's shoulder, and Frank and Marlene were slowly eating their way through a packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Marlene found a fish-flavored one and tried to feed it to Fitzgerald, but he just hissed at her.

"Fitzgerald doesn't want your nibbled bean." I told Marlene, running my hand through his silky black fur.

Fitzgerald was a black, green-eyed Egyptian Mau. He had a scarlet collar with his name on it, but I had no idea who he belonged to. He had first made his appearance in our first year, and all the Gryffindors soon learned that Fitzgerald was a spirited cat who got along with most people and pets, but would attack anyone who tried to call him anything but Fitzgerald, (Marl had a faint scar from second year when she tried to call him Fitzy) which was a really odd name for a cat. He had the run of the common room, and as near as Marl and I could figure, he belonged to one of the Gryffindor boys in our year or the year above.

I think Frank knew who owned Fitzgerald, but whenever we'd tried to ask him about it, he just shut his mouth and grinned.

"So Marl," Frank asked, "Have you planned how you're going to stop Lily from killing James? Because I highly doubt he can last the entire holiday without asking her out."

I glared at him. "Watch it Longbottom, or I just might end up killing you instead."

"Hey," Alice laughed, "Don't, Lily. I won't survive Christmas with my boyfriend's family without him."

Frank widened his eyes in mock horror. "Yeah, c'mon, Lils! Do you _really_ want to torture poor Alice by leaving her alone with my mother?"

I grabbed a Bean for myself. "Speaking of Christmas, we should be packing," I told Marlene, smirking when I realized my Bean was honey-flavored.

"Yes, we should," Marlene muttered, staring at her Potions essay as though wishing it would write itself. Frank raised an eyebrow at us. "Haven't you started yet?"

Alice sniffed. "I_ told_ them to do it when I did, but did they listen? Nooo!"

I grinned guiltily as Marl rolled her eyes. When it came to homework, I tried to get it done as soon as possible, but for things like packing and organizing my stuff, I was a huge procrastinator, just like Marlene.

The corners of Frank's mouth lifted. "Wellll," he drawled, "I haven't started either."

That caused me and Marlene to shriek with laughter as Alice started hitting Frank with her copy of Advanced Potion Making.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"_Where_ in the name of Merlin's most baggy-?"

I sighed as Marlene muttered the same question for the third time in as many minutes. "What can't you find _now_?" I asked wearily, folding a set of robes and putting them in my trunk.

"My new socks." She groaned as Alice smirked at us from her seat on the bed. She had sat down after dinner to finish her Potions essay and gloat at us while we packed.

Two hours later, we were _still_ packing.

The dormitory door opened and our fourth roommate, Mary McDonald entered.

"Lily," she said, "Sirius Black is at the bottom of the stairs." She bit her lip to stop the smile threatening to break out. "He said he wants to talk to you."

I sighed. What had I done to deserve this? It was like a bad prescription for eventual insanity; start the day with a Potter and end it with a Black. As I made my reluctant way down, Marlene followed me. I raised my eyebrows and she huffed.

"I need a break."

Rolling my eyes, we walked out of the room to Alice's mutter of "You took a break fifteen minutes ago."

Black was waiting right at the bottom of the stairs, which made me curious.

"How do you know that boys can't get up to the girls' dorms?" I asked him. He just grinned.

"Marauder secret, love."

Behind me, Marl snorted. "Or, you were there that time in third year when James tried to get up them and slid to the bottom instead."

"Damn you, McKinnon, stop giving all my secrets away!"

"Secrets? Half the common room saw that!"

I sighed impatiently. "Was there any important reason you asked for me, Black? I was rather busy….."

His silver-gray eyes brightened. "I heard you two will be spending Christmas with us. It'll be nice, instead of just me, James and Mrs. Potter."

"Wait a minute," I exclaimed. "_Us?"_

"Oh, right, you wouldn't know," Black replied, "But I stay with the Potters now. Something in the tone of his voice prevented both me and Marlene from asking further questions.

"Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that Mrs. Potter will probably have Christmas presents waiting for you, it's just how she is, so maybe you might want to give her something in return, y'know. She likes flowers; orchids."

I was momentarily stumped by Black's surprising thoughtfulness, but Marlene said quickly "Oh, thanks, Black, no worries, my mum took care of it."

Then something hit me. "Wait, how is it only three of you? What happened to Mr. Potter?"

Beside me, Marlene gasped and Black's eyes widened in surprise.

"You don't-? He didn't-?" He cursed softly. "_Of course _he didn't."

"Well," he said, suddenly brisk, "_I'm _certainly not explaining this. I leave it to you, McKinnon." And before I could get a word in edgewise, he was off.

I turned to Marlene. She sighed and led me to two secluded armchairs. We sat, and when Marlene looked at me, her eyes were sad.

"Lil," she said softly, "There's no good way to say this, but - James' father died on the 20th of December, two years ago."

My body froze. "No…" I whispered, "No way."

For the first time in my life, I thought of James Potter as something more than an arrogant toerag.

For the first time in my life, I realized Potter and I had something major in common, and it was probably something we both regretted.

I remembered the back in the summer before my third year, when my father had died of cancer. I remembered the long months before, waiting and dreading. I remembered the hollow hole it left when he passed away.

"How?" I asked, almost inaudibly. Marlene's blue eyes hardened. "Death Eaters" she spat out. "James' dad was an Auror. Two years ago, five top-notch Aurors conducted what was supposed to be a standard raid on the home of a Ministry employee suspected to be passing information to You-Know-Who. It was a trap. Five Aurors, three in the field for more than ten years, and only one escaped alive, just to spend the next four months in St. Mungo's."

My heart dropped. At least my family had had the bitter consolation that my father's death hadn't come as a shock. James though…..

"Who were the others?" I asked.

Marlene grimaced, like she'd been expecting the question and really didn't want to answer it. "Charles Potter, Cassiopeia Lovegood and Adam Dustfinger were all seasoned Aurors. Joseph Fenwick and Esperanza Robins had just completed training."

I felt a cold shiver down my back when I realized that I recognized more than half the names.

"_Fenwick? Lovegood?_"

Marl nodded. "Joseph Fenwick was Benjy's eldest brother. Cassiopeia Lovegood was Xenophilius Lovegood's mother."

I thought of funny, outgoing Benjy and how we always had a friendly ongoing competition to see who was the best in Charms, one of the few classes where James and Sirius were not top all the time. I thought of the odd seventh year Ravenclaw, Xenophilius Lovegood, who was dating our Head Girl, Ophelia. I thought of James who-

"Oh Merlin, Marl!" I gasped, horrified. "His father died a day before his fifteenth birthday!"

Marlene smiled bitterly. "And ever since, James has hated his birthday."

My thoughts went back to yesterday, how James had been sitting alone in his room instead of enjoying his victory down in the common room, what he'd said.

_Maybe I didn't _want_ to be an obnoxious party host, Evans._

I blanched when I realized how rude I'd acted, completely ignorant of the situation. And _I_ called _him_ a toerag. Oh god, what kind of idiot was I?

"But why didn't anyone mention anything?" I demanded. "People knew when my father died. How come _you_ knew and didn't say anything yesterday?"

Marl looked a little guilty. "The truth is, I didn't remember until after, when you were wondering what the matter with him was. Remember Lil, the year James' dad died was the year Christmas break started early. Very few people know, actually just his friends, me and Frank. And Benjy and Lovegood, I guess."

My eyes widened. "Frank knew,_ too_?"

"Yeah, we were there for the funeral. Frank because his family knows the Potters well, me because our mums are friends and we're practically neighbors. And well, James specifically asked us not to mention it to anyone in school and Benjy agreed, and we couldn't refuse him, Lily, we couldn't."

I nodded, understanding a little. I knew first hand what it was like to have people pity you because you lost your father, and if there was one thing I knew about James Potter, it was that he would hate anyone pitying him.

"I feel terrible about yesterday…" I moaned.

Marl smiled wryly. "Well," she said, "You have the entire Christmas break to make it up to him.

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AN: Phew, that was a long chapter, and I didn't want to split it. Right now it is five past midnight, so I apologize for any errors I missed. And yes, we finally know what was bothering James. The quote in the beginning of the chapter emphasizes on how both Lily and James had lost their fathers, and Lily didn't know she shared that with him. What did the Ministry do? What's going to happen next? Did James know? ….. You'll find out in chapter four.

Take a minute to leave a review,

And you'll find a chapter dedicated to you!

Sorry, that sounds like a bad advertisement. I blame the bad rhymes on my lack of sleep. But really, all of you reading this, I'd love to know what you think. Thanks for reading,

Llj.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I'm not JKR, no matter how much Polyjuice Potion I use…. So no, I don't own Harry Potter.

AN: I am _so, so _sorry. I realize it's been more than a month and I can write an entire paragraph on why I haven't updated, but a few words to sum it up would be- college admissions, board exam results and entrance tests. I should update faster now that the craziness has toned down.

This chapter is dedicated to _wehaveaproblem_ (my favorite reviewer) and _DreamHawthorn._

* * *

Chapter 4: I Make An Unspoken Truce, Sort Of.

"_Look," he said, "your father was the best friend I ever had and he was a good person. A lot of people are idiots at the age of fifteen. He grew out of it." – Sirius Black, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix._

"How contradictory, to be leaving school on a _Monday."_ Peter said, as we sat eating breakfast in the Great Hall. "It's like it undermines the entire theory that Monday is the worst day of the week."

I nodded absently as I glanced down the table to where Lily was sitting. She was pouting adorably at Frank and Marlene, who were both sniggering. Really, sometimes it seemed that her friends teased her ten times worse than I did.

Next to me, Remus said, "At least the weather isn't too bad. Merlin knows we don't want a repeat of last year." We all glanced at the ceiling. The sky was grey, with a light snowfall. Remus was right, as usual. Last year's blizzard-like conditions had been terrible.

"Moony," I said, "Are you _sure_ you'll be-"

"I'll be just_ fine,_ James." Remus replied, a note of irritation entering his voice. I couldn't blame him. Merlin knows how many times I'd asked him that question in the past one week. He fixed his eyes on me.

"Are you sure _you'll_ be okay?"

"Yeah," I muttered, brushing off his concern. I did not want to contemplate another Christmas without my Dad before I had to.

"James will have Evans for company, after all." Sirius said, his lips twitching. "He'll be fine."

"Oh, Merlin." Remus muttered. "Remind me to send your mother a consolatory bouquet after your house collapses." Peter sniggered and I rolled my eyes.

We finished our breakfast and headed out of the Hall towards the Gryffindor tower to collect our trunks. Today the students who were going home for Christmas were boarding the Hogwarts Express. As we climbed the staircase, I ran my hand across the cool stone banister. Hogwarts was magnificent at Christmas time. The Great Hall was decorated with twelve huge trees. Mistletoe hung at intervals in the corridors. There were red, green and gold decorations everywhere.

Even though Remus said he would be fine, I couldn't help worrying about him. Remus was a werewolf, and there would be a full moon in two days. He already looked pale and tired and on top of that, he would be alone.

You see, Sirius, Peter and I found out Remus was a werewolf in second year. I guess Remus had expected us to run in the opposite direction once we realized the truth, but that was a stupid notion. Really, sometimes it amazed me that inspite of being so intuitive about other people, Remus could be so stupid sometimes. Anyway, ever since second year, we searched for and tried to work out a method by which we could help Remus, because we saw the toll the transformations took, the hurts he seemed to accumulate after each full moon. Finally, in our fifth year, we became Animagi, which gave us the ability to stay with Remus while he transformed without getting bitten ourselves. Sure, we broke about a dozen laws and Merlin knows how many school rules, but Remus was worth it. That, I think, was the essence of the Marauders; we stuck together no matter what.

Though it wasn't as if we didn't have our fights, most were minor, but the worst one had taken place at the end of fifth year, when Sirius nearly got Snape killed by Moony.

Sirius hated Snape and all he stood for; at that time, I don't think Sirius really understood the effect his actions could have had. I hated Snape as much as Sirius did, but I couldn't stand by and watch him get hurt by Remus when he had no control over himself. I hadn't even thought twice before running after Snape.

That incident taught me a few things; I realized that my friends and I weren't perfect, that there were consequences to our plans and hexes and pranks, and that they could be severe. Sitting in the hospital wing and watching Remus –one of the most resilient and determined people I knew- fall apart at the thought that he could have seriously hurt someone forced me to grow up in a way nothing else had.

The incident at the lake with Lily just added to everything. I wasn't perfect, and nor was Lily. She gave Snape a hundred chances (and look how well _that_ turned out) but couldn't give me _one_. I didn't exactly try to prove her wrong either, whenever I was near her, I ended up acting like a total idiot.

I wasn't sorry for hexing Snape, he had his chance with her, and he blew it. I was secretly glad Lily and Snape weren't friends anymore; Snape was bad news and Lily should have stayed far from him right from the beginning.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

By mid-morning, we were on the train, chugging our way back to London. In our compartment, Remus had his nose buried in a book (Magical Beasts of South America), Sirius was reading the Prophet sprawled over three seats and Peter was asleep. I had released my cat from his basket and was about to lean back for a nap when the compartment door slid open and Lily and Marlene entered.

Remus started and I sat up straight, my hand moving to ruffle my hair when I remembered that Lily hated it and quickly lowered my hand, ignoring the amused look Sirius shot me.

"Hi, do you mind if we join you all?" Marlene asked lazily, poking Sirius until he shifted his legs so that she and lily could sit.

"It's just that Frank and Alice are acting all mushy and revolting." Lily said sniffily, seating herself opposite me like it was something she did on a regular basis. I just stared.

"Whatcha reading, Black?" Marlene asked Sirius idly.

Sirius smirked. "Just the article on the horrible way the Holyhead Harpies lost their latest match." Unwilling to take part in the heated discussion I knew was coming, I turned to Lily, surprised to find her vibrant green eyes already on me.

"Pott-James," she said hesitantly, and my eyes widened at the use of my first name. "Marl told me about your father. I…. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for what I said to you on your birthday."

The compartment had gone deathly quiet. I could feel my friend's eyes on me, waiting for my reaction. I wanted to be angry with Marlene for telling Lily, but I couldn't. Lily was smart, she would have found out anyway, especially considering the article in today's Prophet. I turned towards the window, staring out at the falling snow whizzing by.

"Don't apologize, Evans." That came out harsher than I meant it to. I sighed. "You couldn't have known."

"But still," her voice sounded remorseful, "What I said was rude and uncalled for, completely ignorant of the situation."

I wondered if she would have apologized if she hadn't known. Probably not.

"Let it go, Lily." I said to the window. "If it was any other situation, you wouldn't have bothered. So please, stop apologizing."

"It's just that, I've lost my father, too…" she muttered. "So I kind of know what it feels like."

An irrational part of me wanted to yell that _no,_ she didn't know what it felt like, because she had never bothered to find out _why_ I spent most of my past two birthdays totally pissed, instead she just yelled at me and my friends, wrinkled her nose at us, but I wasn't exactly the most understanding person too, so I didn't.

Instead, I reminded her of how I'd unwittingly tried to climb up to the girl's dormitories to give her flowers when I heard about her father's passing.

She smiled ruefully. "Yeah, I remember being stuck with a cold and a red nose for a week."

I snorted. "Only _you_ would be allergic to dandelions, Lily!"

"Me?" she said indignantly. "_You_ should have known better than to take them from Greenhouse One, Potter! God only knows what kind of stuff they were exposed to!"

"Alright, alright," I raised my hands in surrender, my lips twitching. "My fault."

Lily rolled her eyes. "_Now_ he admits it."

Her eyes fell on my cat, who was napping in his basket, and she gasped. "Is that_ Fitzgerald?"_

Marlene whipped her head around in surprise. I grinned. I knew the reputation Fitz had in Gryffindor tower. "Yeah, that's Fitz, my cat." Fitz purred loudly at his name, blinking his pale green eyes at us. He loved getting attention.

"He belongs to you?!" Lily gaped while Marl scowled and said, "When _I_ called him Fitz he tried to scratch me!"

"Sorry, Marl." I smirked. "Ownership rights and all that."

Lily snorted. "Figures someone like you would own a black cat called _Fitzgerald._"

"Hey!" I protested. "I was eight when I named him after my favorite comic book character, Franklin Fitzgerald. And what the hell is wrong with a black cat?" Fitz hissed in agreement with me.

"I think," Remus said in amusement, "Lily is referring to the fact that in most muggle cultures, black cats are considered unlucky, and are normally associated with magic folk."

Lily sighed. "Thanks, Remus. At least _someone_ gets me."

Marlene was laughing. "Muggles are crazy!"

"But you gotta love them," Sirius added, pulling out his favorite motorcycle magazine.

Lily stood up. "Well, I think it should be safe enough to go back to our own compartment now, Marl."

"Aww, c'mon Lily, stay with us!" I said. She rolled her eyes.

"See you on the platform, Potter, Black. Have a good Christmas, Remus!"

"Thanks, Lily." Remus smiled. Marlene lingered behind to give me an apologetic look."I'm sorry, James, I had to tell her."

"I don't mind." I said quickly. "She would have found out anyway."The slamming of the compartment door woke Peter. He blinked groggily.

"Was someone here?"

"Pete," Sirius sighed, stretching his legs back across the two empty seats, "Your ability to sleep through almost anything is highly envied."

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AN: This chapter also took time because I wanted to get it perfect. I don't think that James Potter, being who he was, miraculously matured over the summer before his sixth year, or grew up just because Lily told him to. I think the events at the end of his fifth year definitely had something to do with the whole process. I hope James' explanation of the events and how he feels about it is clear.

Fitzgerald loves reviews! C'mon you're not going to keep him unhappy, are you? Send us some reviews! Thanks for reading,

LyraLilyJackson.


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